When Jesse Johnson made his exit from the band that made him famous, The Time, he may have been unaware, but he had an immense responsibility: to keep the funk of Minneapolis alive, whilst “That Guy” was taking his art down a different road. For much of his run as a solo artist (and psuedo-solo artist, to give credit to the “Revue” that titles his first album) on A&M Records, whether it was at the insistence of the record label or not, he did just that. Not only did he carry the torch that he snatched from “That Guy” in that sense, but he also was given the opportunity to produce, perhaps making his own versions of The Time. The first time Jesse went down this path, the result was Ta Mara & The Seen, one of the hidden gems of the era.

Employing Margie Cox, a young and familiar face within the Minneapolis music scene (prior to this, she had replaced Cynthia Johnson in Lipps, Inc. before they closed their doors, and after this, she did go on to work with “That Guy” in some capacity), as the band’s frontwoman and namesake (she adopted the name “Ta Mara”), Jesse Johnson dropped a set of what some might argue, his best work in the “Minneapolis Sound” vein. Though among aficionados, insiders, and people who Google ASCAP listings it was known that Jesse penned what is perhaps The Time’s most famous song, “Jungle Love” (to date, this is the only song from that part of his career that he revisits in his own concerts), if it wasn’t apparent then, it was certainly so, from the first seconds of the album’s opener “Everybody Dance”. Much like Cherrelle’s “I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” was an “F.U.” to “That Guy” from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, this song serves a similar purpose — a dance-floor scorcher that reminds you of something else with which they may have been involved. The rest of the album is non-stop Minneapolis fun: the sleek “Affecttion” is made sweeter by Ta Mara’s lead vocal, which can reach into place’s Jesse’s likely could not (unlike many who “do it all”, he had a very clear idea of his limitations at that given point in time). “Summertime Love” is absolutely grand, and should be on everyone’s playlist. The same could be said for “Thinking About You” and “Got To Have You”. Though the run time is short, this album is absolutely worth the price of admission if you love the Minneapolis sound (and even if you aren’t that deep into it). The “Revue” instrumentation is in full effect, and if you’re a close study of the work of Jesse Johnson, you can easily tell he’s closely involved with this album, the same way “That Guy” was involved with The Time.